New Delhi, December 19: The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which has sparked protests across India over the alleged communal feature of the law, was not discussed in the "2+2" India-US dialogue held in Washington. Under the special bilateral framework, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met their counterparts - Secretary of Defence Mike Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. 'CAA-NRC Referendum': Mamata Banerjee Calls For Nationwide Voting on Centre's Citizenship Project Under UN or NHRC Watch.

On being asked whether Secretary Pompeo inquired into the alleged discriminatory prospects of the CAA, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the issue was not raised during the 2+2 meeting. The matter, being strictly internal to India, was not part of the dialogue between the four leaders.

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, however, told reporters that the matter was discussed during EAM S Jaishankar's meeting with the US Congress members. The matter was also raised during Jaishankar's interaction with the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Update by ANI

"I'm not aware of the specifics of what was discussed in EAM's meeting with the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. But our perspective on the Act has been shared with the US interlocutors, including the US Congress," Jaishankar said.

"We've highlighted the points which we have articulated in Parliament and subsequently which has been repeatedly by the PM and Home Minister. I can only say that in the context of his meeting with the members of the US Congress, EAM shared our perspectives on this issue," he added.

The CAA protests have gained traction in American media, with several leading dailies running front page lead stories over the escalating unrest in India. The citizenship law aims to naturalise non-Muslim refugees who entered India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The exclusion of Muslims, in view of the upcoming nationwide National Register of Citizenship (NRC) exercise, is being considered as a "conspiracy" to turn a section of the community "stateless".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 19, 2019 06:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).